FLORIDA THIRD-GRADERS FACE POT CHARGES

PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida (CNN) -- Two third-graders at a Florida elementary
school are facing felony charges Wednesday after police said they were
found to have 15 plastic bags of marijuana.

Port St. Lucie police said a cafeteria worker at the Rivers Edge Elementary
School told them a 9-year-old boy had shown her a plastic bag of what
appeared to be pot.

The boy had 12 small bags of marijuana, according to a police report.

The student admitted he attempted to sell some of the bags to another
third-grader, according to police. A second pupil was found in possession
of three bags, police said. He told police he got them from the first boy
on the bus on the way to school.

The boy with three bags was charged with possession of marijuana, a felony
because it happened on school grounds. The second boy was charged with
felony possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

The boy with 12 bags initially told police he found them on the ground in
Fort Pierce, a city north of Port St. Lucie where he lives. He then said
another child gave it to him to sell.

Police said they are looking for a Fort Pierce teenager in connection with
the incident.

Port St. Lucie is an Atlantic Coast city about 120 miles north of Miami.
Police estimate the drugs -- about 16 grams of marijuana -- were worth
about $75.

The boys were booked into the St. Lucie Regional Detention Center and then
released to their parents or legal guardians Monday night. A police
spokesman said these are the youngest children they have arrested on
charges of marijuana possession.

A school district spokeswoman said the Rivers Edge Elementary School sent a
letter to parents explaining the situation. She called it an isolated
incident, the first of its kind involving elementary-age students in her
district.

The students were suspended for 10 days and have been recommended for
expulsion under the school district's zero-tolerance policy for drugs.